[4e] Scion of Arkhosia

[Guinea Anubis]

Scion of Arkhosia page 25 of the PHB2. I was looking in to taking this for a character I am working on. The character is a Dragonborn Paladin of Tiamat. The back story for this guy is that he is trying to find an ancient artifact that is rumored to be real(it may very well not be) that can turn a Dragonborn in to a real dragon. His goal is to get this artifact and become one of Tiamats consorts.

With the background I game him taking Scion of Arkhosia seams like a no brainer, but it looks a little under powered. So what do you guys think of Scion of Arkhosia?

[Kylarra]

I think it's a pretty cool PP personally, although probably statistically a tad weaker given its emphasis on flying and the way wotc really doesn't want flying characters.

[Edge of Dreams]

It's solid, especially if you enjoy using your dragonbreath. I think it's better suited to a fighter than a paladin, though, due to the applications of the long range attack for mass marking.

[Gametime]

It's definitely never going to be the mechanically best choice, but it's never really a bad one, either. It's especially decent for melee characters, since they're usually in a position to take advantage of the reasonably-good action point ability and they gain more from the ranged attacks than ranged characters do.

As with most things in 4e, you won't be optimal by taking it, but you won't be too far behind the curve to contribute significantly. If it fits your character, go for it.

[Asbestos]

I think it's a pretty cool PP personally, although probably statistically a tad weaker given its emphasis on flying and the way wotc really doesn't want flying characters to overshadow/invalidate the ground pounders and turn adventures into strange aerial conflicts

Fixed that for you.

[NPCMook]

Tiamat has 1 or 2 Dragonborn Consorts already, so even if he can't become a real dragon he still has a shot

[Guinea Anubis]

Tiamat has 1 or 2 Dragonborn Consorts already, so even if he can't become a real dragon he still has a shot

I know she had at lest one. But still you have to have goals for your characters. It may not be the best path to take but he is going to go Scion of Arkhosia then Demigod when he gets epic since it fits his background.

[Guinea Anubis]

I was working on picking feats and was looking at taking the feat for dragonborn that makes there breath weapon bigger. I then started thinking is would it also apply to the two dreath weapon powers from Scion of Arkhosia?

[Mando Knight]

They don't say they count as Dragon Breath with respect to feats, so no. Your meta-breath feats don't affect the Scion of Arkhosia powers.

[Guinea Anubis]

That is how I read that too, I was just hoping I was wrong.

Do you think it would be game braking to have the feat count for them?

[Meek]

I've had good experiences with it. The at-will flight power has been very useful for establishing position on the battlefield and for overcoming natural obstacles. It's not going to be as powerful as a dedicated Paladin path for you, because it's not meant to be. But it is pretty interesting and useful.

[Asbestos]

That is how I read that too, I was just hoping I was wrong.

Do you think it would be game braking to have the feat count for them?

If Wizards can have Enlarge Spell and not break the game... Then I think the paladin can enlarge his total of what... 3 powers?

[Guinea Anubis]

If Wizards can have Enlarge Spell and not break the game... Then I think the paladin can enlarge his total of what... 3 powers?

more or less what I was thinking, wonder if I can stack Empowered Dragon Breath on there too.

they are not the best picks for feats IMHO but they fit.

[Anonomuss]

If Wizards can have Enlarge Spell and not break the game... Then I think the paladin can enlarge his total of what... 3 powers?

I agree that the idea makes sense flavour-wise, however mechanics wise, it's not the same thing.

The Wizard can only increase a blast from Blast n to Blast n+1, and suffers a -2 to each die of damage.
The Enlarged Dragonbreath moves from being a Close Blast 3 to being a Close Blast 5, with no impact to the damage caused. The rationale behind allowing it at all, is probably that it only works on the racial power, the benefits of which are that as an encounter, minor action power, is going to be used quite a lot, so the benefit will apply in almost each fight.

What's to stop a Dragonborn Sorcerer from using the same rationale with the "x-breath" line of Dragon Sorcerer spells? All feats have to have at least some level of limitation.

Fluff wise, I'd say that Enlarged Dragonbreath is equivalent to expanded lung power on a human, and they can't employ it with respect to a more focused burst or implemented in a more specialised way.

[Guinea Anubis]

Yep, the DM shot down letting the breath weapon feats count for the Scion of Arkhosia powers.